Nestlé acts on microplastics water pollution and signs European Plastics Pact
- March 11, 2020
- Posted by: administrator
- Category: Companies, Corporate, Environmental, Water Issues, Europe
Nestlé has announced the signing of the European Plastics Pact which will help to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable and reduce its use of virgin plastics by one third by 2025.
It also brings Nestlé closer to its vision that none of its packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill nor in oceans, lakes and rivers.
The European Plastics Pact aims to accelerate the transition towards a circular plastics economy. It will stop the sole dependence on virgin plastics – plastics made from non-renewable fossil fuel.
The Pact is a joint effort of leading companies, NGOs and governments which agreed on common goals by 2025. The European targets include:
Reducing virgin plastic products and packaging by at least 20%.
Raising collection and recycling capacity in Europe for plastic packaging by at least 25%.
Boosting the use of recycled plastics in packaging to an average of at least 30%.
The challenge for Nestlé, and the food industry at large, is that it is currently cheaper to produce packaging from virgin plastics than to use recycled food-grade plastics.
To overcome this, Nestlé recently announced an investment of more than CHF 1.5 billion to create a market for food-grade recycled plastics.The food and beverage giant has also launched a CHF 250 million sustainable packaging fund focusing on start-ups developing packaging innovation.